''Chilabothrus gracilis'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of non venomous

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

in the Boidae family. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

(split between

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Description

Adults may attain a total length of , which includes a tail long. Dorsally it is blackish gray, with small black spots, which are arranged in six series running down the body. Ventrally it is lighter in color. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 40 rows. Ventrals 282–289; anal plate entire; subcaudals 100-103 also entire. The body is slender and strongly laterally compressed. Upper labials 11 or 12, the sixth and seventh (or fifth and sixth) entering the eye.

Subspecies

Two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognized: *''Chilabothrus gracilis gracilis'' (J.G. Fischer, 1888) *''Chilabothrus gracilis hapalus'' Sheplan & Schwartz, 1974Schwartz, Albert, and Richard Thomas. 1975. ''A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles''. Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 216 pp. (''Epicrates gracilis'', p. 184.)

Description

Subspecies

References

Further reading